Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to buy Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their houses or as really distinct gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the costs are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one must beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to identify credibility are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might image source go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *